Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 05.20.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on May 20

 Here are some of today’s top stories and happenings at IAVA.  

 
MUST READS
 
(1) Arms Sent by U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands
 
The New York Times reports today that American officers and arms dealers have found evidence that rifle ammunition identical to the type the United States has provided to Afghan government forces may have fallen into the hands of Taliban insurgents in the Korangal Valley.  The recent find, though small, raises concerns that poor discipline and outright corruption among Afghan forces is helping insurgents stay supplied.  According to officials, while the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan has taken steps to locate and log small arms issued, but there remains limited oversight of ammunition which is harder to trace and more liquid than firearms.  Serial numbers on some of the ammunition reviewed by The New York Times referenced a California-based arms dealer, Wolf Performance Ammunition, which sells Russian-made cartridges to American gun owners.  The revelation comes a day after the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued an audit charging the Combined Security Transition Command, which is responsible for overseeing $15 billion in U.S. programs to develop Afghanistan's security forces, is not sure the money is being managed effectively.
 
(2) Electrician: KBR did faulty wiring in Iraq
 
An electrician hired by the U.S. Army to help inspect electrical work at facilities where U.S. soldiers operate in Iraq said Wednesday that 90% of wiring done in newly constructed buildings by one military contractor was done improperly.  In prepared testimony for the Senate Democrats’ police committee, the inspector, Jim Childs, estimated that 70,000 buildings in Iraq were not up to code and acknowledged that most of the wiring was performed by Houston-based KBR Inc.  “When I began inspecting the electrical work performed by KBR, my co-workers and I found improper electrical work in every building we inspected,” Childs said.  To date, at least three service members have been electrocuted while showering at U.S. facilities in Iraq.
 
(3) Rumsfeld aide blasts report on religious Iraq slides
 
Through a spokesman, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday he would not have approved Christian-themed covers to intelligence reports on the invasion of Iraq, calling them "counterproductive to the war effort.”  The covers, some of which were published in the latest issue of GQ magazine on Tuesday, juxtaposed images from the 2003 invasion with verses from the Bible.  According to the magazine, Rumsfeld used the covers to curry favor with then-President George Bush, a devout evangelical.  "Rumsfeld was fully aware that words and actions could be harmful and counterproductive to the war effort. It's safe to say that some of these cover slides could be considered in that category," his spokesman said. "The suggestion that Rumsfeld would have composed of, approved of, or personally shown the slides to President Bush is flat wrong. It did not happen."
 
AFGHANISTAN
 
Two American service members were reportedly killed Wednesday when their military vehicle traveling from Kabul toward Bagram Air Field were hit by a roadside bomb.  Officials provided few details of the incident.
 
After an investigation, U.S. military officials rejected claims Wednesday by the Afghan government that U.S. airstrikes killed around 140 noncombatants in a recent bombing in the western province of Farah.  Officials instead acknowledged that “at least 20-30 civilians may have been killed” during fighting in which an estimated 65 Taliban insurgents also died.  Rejection of the civilian casualty count comes a day after the new American ambassador, Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, met face–to-face at a mosque in Bala Baluk with Afghan survivors of the May 4th aerial bombardment.  At a separate press conference Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell acknowledged that the military has a video of the incident which it is using in the investigation.  "We do have gun camera video that's being analyzed," said Geoff Morrell. "[However], I'm not going to get into descriptions of it beyond what I have said here."
 
IRAQ
 
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Tuesday that U.S. soldiers are still finding large numbers of Iranian-made weapons in Iraq, despite's Iran's denials.  According to Morrell, a large cache of Iranian explosives was found a week ago in Iraq; in addition, Morrell said Tuesday the military has also found evidence of Iranians training Iraqi terrorist groups.
 
Stateside, two mothers of soldiers who served in Iraq have failed in their attempt to sue the federal government over the constitutionality of the war.  On Tuseday, U.S. District Judge Jose Linares dismissed their lawsuit claiming President Bush overstepped his authority by invading Iraq in 2003 without formally declaring war.
 
MILITARY AFFAIRS
 
During a prime-time interview on MSNBC last night, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, an 18-year Air Force officer and fighter pilot assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, said he has been fired under the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays.  In the interview, Fehrenbach said conclusions by an investigation board that his homosexuality harmed unit morale, good order and discipline are “absolutely false.”  "About 4,000 people are assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, and only about 10 people on the entire base even knew of my case up until this very moment," Fehrenbach said. "Those were my immediate chain of command, a couple of attorneys in the legal office, and a couple of officers in the Office of Special Investigations. Not one single person that I'm assigned with in my squadron, or that I fly with in my fighter squadron, knew about this case until this moment."  Fehrenbach has nine Air Medals, including one for valor for assaulting an Iraqi ambush position while under heavy anti-aircraft fire during the first days of the Iraq invasion in March 2003.
 
Separately, education officials in New York City are ordering public schools to develop plans to better monitor on-campus military recruiting following complaints by civil rights groups that schools gave military recruiters access to students’ names and contact information.  Beginning this fall, schools must now provide military opt-out forms to 9th and 10th grade students.  Currently, only 11th and 12th graders received them.
 
INSIDE WASHINGTON
 
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved three veterans bills that would provide job protections for federal workers who are also in the reserves, demand faster training for federal specialists in job placement, and award $200,000 in grants to encourage development of technologies to make home life easier for severely disabled veterans.  The assisted technology grant bill, HR 1170, could spur development of voice-recognition systems to help increase independence so that disabled veterans can feed themselves, be more mobile and enjoy more recreational activities.  HR 1170, the job protections bills, would give the Office of Special Counsel responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of cases of employment and re-employment rights violations by federal agencies, power that currently rests with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment Training Service.
 
CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

 
THE SENATE
       
The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m.

FLOOR ACTIVITY of  INTEREST

• Resume consideration of HR2346, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations. There will be up to 2 hours for debate in relation to Inouye amendment #1133 (Guantanamo funding). The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes. The Majority will control the next 30 minutes. The final hour will be equally divided with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.
• At approximately 11:30am, the Senate will proceed to vote on the Inouye amendment.
• Under Rule 22, the filing deadline is 1:00pm for germane first degree amendments.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST

• May 20, 2009 - Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing on the Troubled Asset Relief Program PL 110-343, with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner . 9:30 a.m., 538 Dirksen
• May 20, 2009 - Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions marks up a bill S 982 on smoking prevention. 2:30 p.m., 430 Dirksen

THE HOUSE of  REPRESENTATIVES
       
The House will convene at 10:00 a.m.
       
COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST

• May 20, 2009 - House Veterans’ Affairs Full Committee Roundtable:  The Growing Needs of Women Veterans: Is the VA Ready?  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon 
• May 20, 2009 -House Education and Labor hearing on the Obama administration’s education agenda, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan. 10:00 a.m., 2175 Rayburn
• May 20, 2009 - House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on state and local pandemic preparedness. 2:00 p.m., 2154 Rayburn

 
COMMITTEE  REPORTS

• House Report 111-109  to amend chapter 21 of title 38, United States Code, to establish a grant program to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for specially adapted housing,
•  House Report 111-110  Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009
• House Report 111-111  Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act of 2009

 
IAVA IN THE NEWS
Release: NASW
Title: Murders on American Military Base Counseling Center Include Social Worker
Date: Wednesday, May 20th
Representative: Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA
 
WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING 
Blog: What’s New at VVA
Title: Message from John Rowan about IAVA Mistake and Apology
Date: Tuesday, May 10th
Representative: Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA
 
Blog: The Hill’s Pundit Blog
Title: Message from a Soldier Headed Overseas
Date: Tuesday, May 19th
Representative: Craig Newmark, IAVA Board
 
Blog:  Suite101.com
Title: Treating PTSD: Types of Therapy for Combat Vets
Date: Tuesday, May 19th
Representative: Paul Rieckhoff